Short Story "Thunder Cymbals"

1: Encounter with Bandits in the Vast Sea

Shangguan Ding was alone, holding the Thunder Cymbals. When he arrived at Black Shark Island, the residence of Lin Yu'ou, the island master, had already been reduced to a field of white ashes.

Lin Yu'ou was once a great hero in the martial world, but ten years ago, to escape the pursuit of his enemies, he went into hiding on Black Shark Island. Ten days ago, Shangguan Ding received a pigeon letter from Lin Yu'ou—he wanted Shangguan Ding to come to Black Shark Island and join forces with him to resist formidable enemies.

Shangguan Ding's weapon, the Thunder Cymbals, was not only feared in the martial world, but also contained a great secret inside. However, no one knew this secret except Shangguan Ding.

After receiving Lin Yu'ou's call for help, Shangguan Ding first rode a horse and then took a boat, rushing to Black Shark Island as fast as possible, yet he still arrived a step too late. In the huge Lin residence, only a single column, still emitting faint smoke, stood alone.

On this column were clearly visible the slashes from various weapons. Upon seeing the weapon marks on the column, Shangguan Ding hurriedly questioned the island fishermen to learn the tragic events that had befallen the Lin family the day before.

Lin Yu'ou's enemies numbered over a hundred. Dressed in black with their faces masked in black veils and wielding sharp blades, they stormed into the Lin residence, killing anyone they saw. Lin Yu'ou fought with his sword to protect his wife and children, retreating while fighting, and eventually boarded a fishing boat by the shore.

The enemies pursued him onto the boat. In the end, the fishing boat Lin Yu'ou was on was struck by the enemies' fiery arrows. In the raging fire, the boat eventually sank into the sea... Upon hearing that his old friend had been killed, Shangguan Ding's tears flowed like a river. He bought incense, candles, and paper money, and burned them by the sea. As paper ashes flew through the air, Shangguan Ding took out the small millstone-like Thunder Cymbals from his weapon bag and struck them together heavily. The thunderous cymbal sound roared along the shore of Black Shark Island.

Shangguan Ding boarded a ferry on Black Shark Island heading directly to Haizhou Prefecture. The waterway was over a hundred miles, requiring at least half a day. While standing at the bow of the boat, thinking of his old friend Lin Yu'ou, he suddenly saw three fast boats appearing on the sea ahead.

These three fast boats were fully sailed like swelling drums, and atop their masts hung blood-red skull flags. The three boats shot forward like arrows from a bow, and in the blink of an eye, they reached the side of the ferry.

The boat skipper behind Shangguan Ding shouted in alarm: "The blood-skull pirates from Ghost Island are here!"Blood Skeleton is the most ferocious pirate in the East China Sea. As soon as Shangguan Ding saw the pirates, he raised the Thunder Cymbals behind him in his hands. However, the sailors and passengers on the ferry all held their heads with both hands and fell flat onto the deck with a 'plop, plop.'

On the three fast ships, there were a total of seventy to eighty pirates, who all threw steel anchors with iron chains at the ferry. The steel anchors firmly hooked onto the sides of the ferry, making the ferry a 'captive' of the pirates.

The leader of these seventy to eighty pirates was none other than the second-in-command of Ghost Island, Hei Ao. Hei Ao held a heavy fish spear weighing a hundred jin. With a flick of his toe against the side of a fast ship, he leapt onto the ferry with a 'whoosh.' Hei Ao's body was like a bear; after landing on the ferry, instead of robbing the merchants' valuables, he shouted at the ready Shangguan Ding: 'Shangguan Thunder Cymbal, the rolling thunder that shakes the nine provinces?…'

Shangguan Ding arrogantly said, 'That's right, I am Shangguan Ding!'

Hei Ao leapt, rising two zhang (about 6.6 meters). In midair, Hei Ao roared: 'Today, I'll send you to the Dragon King to shake the nine provinces!' His steel spear flashed like thunder and lightning, stabbing straight at Shangguan Ding's head.

Shangguan Ding clashed the Thunder Cymbals together with a 'clang,' instantly pinching the spearhead of Hei Ao's steel spear. Before Hei Ao could withdraw the spear, Shangguan Ding forcefully twisted the cymbals with both hands. There was a 'crack,' and Hei Ao's spearhead snapped off with a response.

Shangguan Ding, holding a single cymbal, bent down and picked up the spearhead from the deck. Measuring the distance between the three tines with his hand, he ground his teeth and said, 'The pillars of the Lin family bear the marks of this spear tip; you are one of the killers of my brother Lin…'

Seeing that Shangguan Ding had found evidence linking him to the murder of Lin Yu'ou so quickly, Hei Ao roared viciously, 'Shoot arrows, kill him!...'

Two: Lin Qiang Injured

The Ghost Island pirates were truly ruthless. The arrows they shot were all tipped with venom from sea snakes. These arrows could close wounds instantly; they were incredibly dangerous.

Shangguan Ding, holding two huge cymbals, used them like two shields. At first, he managed to deflect all the poisonous arrows aimed at him to the ground, but as the pirate archers increased their shooting speed, Shangguan Ding began to struggle to keep up."Shangguan Ding had originally intended to use the thunderous sound of the double cymbals to kill those well-trained pirate archers, but there were still twenty passengers and sailors on the boat. If he recklessly unleashed the thunderous sound, these innocent people on board would definitely be shaken to the point of vomiting blood and dying.
While Shangguan Ding was struggling to deal with this, a scream came from one of the pirate speedboats: "It's bad, the boat is sinking!"
Hei Ao was directing his men to shoot arrows at Shangguan Ding. Hearing the scream, he turned around and saw that the stern of one of his speedboats was taking in water while the bow was already lifted out of the water. Clearly, the bottom of this boat had been deliberately holed!...
Hei Ao shouted to the dozen or so archers behind him, "Quick, jump into the water, don't let Shangguan Ding's accomplices escape!"
His men quickly plunged into the dark blue sea with a "plop, plop," like dumplings, and the pressure on Shangguan Ding immediately eased, letting him breathe a sigh of relief.
After Hei Ao's dozen or so men jumped into the sea, two wails of agony were heard almost immediately. Hei Ao looked at the two pirate bodies floating on the surface of the sea and shouted in fury, "Aaah!"
The pirates who entered the sea were numerous and formidable. Indeed, after some searching, a young man was forced out of the water. This young man wielded a shimmering whale-cutting knife and drove back the approaching pirates one by one.
Before Hei Ao could order his men to continue the encirclement of the young man in the sea, an exclamation came from the pirates on the second speedboat: "Second-in-command, it's bad! This boat has been sabotaged by that person too!"
The water route from the ferry docking area to Haizhou Prefecture took only an hour. If the sea ghosts at the bottom sank all three speedboats, even if the Zhuhai County navy rushed over by ship upon hearing the news, these pirates would be in extreme danger.
Hei Ao waved his hand and shouted, "Retreat immediately!"
All the pirates on the ferry gathered onto the third speedboat, and the steersman pirate raised a huge axe, cutting the iron chains that hooked the ferry with a loud "crack."
Shangguan Ding swung his Thunder Cymbals, killing seven or eight pirates who hadn't escaped in time. Hei Ao's speedboat had already sailed more than ten zhang away. Looking back at the young man in the sea, he had already been hit by poisoned arrows fired from Hei Ao's men.Shangguan Ding grabbed the rope on the ferry and rescued the unconscious young man aboard. Seeing the young man clutching the Whale-Slaying Knife tightly in his hand, he shouted, "Lin Qiang, you must be Lin Qiang!"

The Whale-Slaying Knife was the weapon that made Lin Yu'ou famous across the East Sea. This treasure could cut through a ship's planks underwater as easily as slicing tofu. The young man resembled Lin Yu'ou in appearance, and since he was holding Lin Yu'ou's Whale-Slaying Knife, if he wasn't Lin Qiang, who else could he be?

Six years ago, Shangguan Ding had met Lin Qiang once. Recognizing the son of an old friend at a glance, he immediately knew it was him.

Shangguan Ding removed the poisoned arrow from Lin Qiang's body and gave him a Bailong Antidote Pill. Although this medicine couldn't neutralize the sea snake venom in his body, it could at least protect Lin Qiang's heart meridian and ensure he survived for the next two hours.

An hour later, the ferry docked, and Shangguan Ding carried the unconscious Lin Qiang toward Haizhou Prefecture.

There was a master physician in Haizhou Prefecture, known as the Bull Divine Doctor, skilled at curing all poisons. Upon examining the poison in Lin Qiang's body, the doctor exclaimed, "If he hadn't been brought here, he would have died. Quickly, prepare the Hundred Remedies Decoction!"

During his travels in the Western Regions, the Bull Divine Doctor had obtained a treasure — the Hundred Remedies Stone. A decoction made from this stone could neutralize the sea snake venom.

After ten days of treatment, Lin Qiang was finally able to hold onto the edge of the bed and stand. That day, Shangguan Ding visited the medicinal hall of the Bull Divine Doctor to check on Lin Qiang's condition. Struggling to his feet, Lin Qiang suddenly fell to his knees with a thud and shouted, "Uncle Shangguan, you must teach me the art of the Thunder Clash Cymbals! I want to eliminate the Bloody Skeletons of the Sea Bandits and avenge my father!"

**Chapter Three: Not Human as Rumored**

When Shangguan Ding was in danger, Lin Qiang had actually hidden in the bottom cabin of the ferry. Just as Hei Ao was directing his men to shoot arrows at Shangguan Ding, Lin Qiang secretly slipped out and jumped into the sea to start using the Whale-Slaying Knife to sink the bandits' fast ships.

Shangguan Ding reached out and helped Lin Qiang up, saying, "Lin Qiang, don't worry. As soon as you recover, I will teach you the Thunder Clash Cymbals technique. If we don't eliminate the Bloody Skeletons of Ghost Island, your father in the underworld will not be able to rest in peace!"

Two months later, Lin Qiang had fully recovered. Shangguan Ding led him back to Mei Manor, and from that time on, began teaching him the techniques of the Thunder Clash Cymbals without reservation.Behind Meizhuang Village, there is a Mount Moyun Peak, which soars into the clouds, and the summit is covered with copper ore. After being struck by lightning, the copper ore on the mountaintop transforms entirely into copper essence. Using this copper essence to make Thunder Cymbals, when the two cymbals clash, the sound is like thunder. It is absolutely a divine weapon capable of defeating enemies.

Lin Qiang was very intelligent; he learned all thirty-six powerful cymbal techniques in just half a year. However, the skill of the 'Closed Hearing' technique took him nearly a year to master. It should be known that when two cymbals strike each other, the first to be affected is oneself. Once the 'Closed Hearing' technique is employed, the cymbal player temporarily loses the ability to hear, preventing the cymbals' thunderous sound from affecting himself.

After Lin Qiang had mastered the Thunder Cymbals techniques, Shangguan Ding tore off the old silk from the top of the cymbals and then took out two dark, mysterious straps, tying them onto the cymbals.

Lin Qiang asked in surprise, "Master, why are there black straps on the top of the cymbals?"

Shangguan Ding said, "These are the most resilient shark-man straps!" By tying these shark-man straps to the cymbals, no matter how intense the vibration when the two Thunder Cymbals collide, as long as the player holds onto the straps, the immense shock of the cymbals will be harmless.

Lin Qiang took the Thunder Cymbals from Shangguan Ding, gripping the shark-man straps with both hands, and asked, "Master, I've heard people in the martial world say there's a big secret hidden in these Thunder Cymbals?"

Shangguan Ding pondered for a moment and said, "I will tell you before I die!"

Seeing that Shangguan Ding refused to reveal the secret of the Thunder Cymbals, Lin Qiang said fiercely, "Now I can finally seek joy in settling grudges!"

After he spoke, Lin Qiang exerted his strength, and the two cymbals clashed with a heavy 'Boom.' Lin Qiang used his internal energy to shut his hearing, but Shangguan Ding was caught off guard; the massive sound from the Thunder Cymbals made his nostrils and ears bleed.

Severely injured, Shangguan Ding coughed up blood and shouted, "Lin Qiang, are you out of your mind?"

This Lin Qiang was a fake. In fact, the Lin family father and son had already been killed. The false Lin Qiang was Qiu Xiaojiu, the son of the pirate chief Blood Skeleton from Ghost Island. Qiu Xiaojiu impersonated Lin Qiang for one reason only: to obtain the Thunder Cymbals.

Shangguan Ding, gravely wounded, was no match for Qiu Xiaojiu. Pursuing him with the cymbals, Qiu Xiaojiu relentlessly drove Shangguan Ding all the way to the bank of the Falling Flower River outside the village.Shangguan Ding looked at the cymbals coming straight at him. He cried out to the sky in grief: "Brother Lin, go slowly, I am coming after you!"

Shangguan Ding leaped into the Falling Flower River. Watching the splashes on the river, Chou Xiaojiu said proudly: "From now on, the East Sea will be the world of us father and son enemies!"

The Huizhou Prefecture navy had more than thirty powerful warships. When the Ghost Island pirates killed people and plundered goods, they were also very wary of the official navy's warships. After Chou Xiaojiu obtained the Thunder Cymbals, he led the pirates to launch an attack on the official navy's ships.

Chou Xiaojiu, holding the Thunder Cymbals, charged at the front. He was often the first to jump onto the official ships and then struck the cymbals repeatedly. The rolling thunder-like sound of the cymbals was extremely lethal. Those officials who escaped slowly all became ghosts under the cymbals.

With the Thunder Cymbals in hand, Chou Xiaojiu killed to the point that the official navy's massive warships no longer dared to go out to sea to eliminate pirates.

4: The Destruction of the Ghost Island Bandits

One day, Chou Xiaojiu led his pirate crew to rampage at sea all day. It was only when night fell that they returned to Ghost Island.

Ghost Island consisted of hundreds and thousands of islands and reefs, densely scattered across the sea. The waterways between the islands were not only narrow but also full of hidden reefs. Ships navigating there would encounter rising sea fog, making it difficult to discern direction.

When the Blood Skeleton first discovered Ghost Island, it took him seven or eight years to finally find a safe